My first roast!

[gibbrishclown]

I'm new to the whole domestic thing. I'm trying ot learn though. I bought a gorgeous angus butt roast, browned it on all sides and seasoned it. I put it, a can of beef broth, a package of onion soup, celery and water to cover. Mom said to wait on carrots and potatoes because I got little ones of both. I set the pot for four hours because I'm impatient and my roast is huge. How do I know when the meat's cooked though? Or will it just get done sometime in the next couple hours? It might get more than 4 hours too, because my bf is flying in here, and the weather is bad, so it might be more like 6 hours.

[nanabillie]

Are you cooking it in a crock pot? Slow cooker? Or oven? Do you have a meat themometer? Do you know how much it weighed and if in oven what temp?
I have been married almost 39 years and have cooked MANY roast.LOL
Billie

[gibbrishclown]

Heh, it was 4 and a quarter pounds and it's in the crockpot. I do not have a meat thermometer. This was my first valentines day not babysitting... I have only had to cook stoner food since I left home for the most part. LOL

[nanabillie]

I will be perfectly honest with you, I don't remember seeing butt roast except in pork.
I went to google right quick and didn't take long reading. I don't know how tender a cut that is. To me now, the tougher the cut, the longer you need to cook in the crock pot. My son, who is 37, likes to add a small coke (drink LOL) to the same ingredients you listed. He got that from my Mom. What state are you in? I know I read on another post about you moving with your bf. Kinda like eve's dropping I guess. Let me look at google some more. Someone else may be able to help before I get back.

[gibbrishclown]

I'm in DE. COke? What does that do?

It may not have been butt, it just looked like abutt cheek to me a big one. I know for sure it's an angus roast, but the butt part might have been my perception rather than the truth lemme find the recipt... brb.

[nanabillie]

I do know that Angus is much more expensive around here. And more tender. I live in SC. It will probably take four hours to cook. Just don't let it get dry. Keep enough water or broth in it. I would plan on cooking the potatoes and carrots that last hour. I cook a lot in my crock pot. And I cook a lot of roast and all my ham in a Club Aluminum Dutch Oven. That is just the large pot with a lid that comes with most sets of cook ware. I have had my club aluminum for years. Some say it is not good for you, I don't know. You know how everything you do causes cancer. Well, I've had mine. Breast cancer three years ago and don't think my pot had anything to do with it.
The coke I think helps tenderize.

[gibbrishclown]

i won't let it get dry. I've been drizzling the top part that isn't covered in water and broth and I flipped it over so it'd cook evenly.

I got a helluva deal on my meat today. It waas about a $20 roast and I had a card and came on the right day, so it was less than $10 :s1gyahoo:

Thank you so much billie! I can't wait to eat my roast!

[nanabillie]

With that big a roast you will have plenty left over to make beef stew. Or home made soup as we call it. Tomorrow or day after. Cut up some let over beef, add some of your broth, some can tomatoes, potatoes, okra (we love okra), any kind of beans in the pantry or freezer, some corn. Yummy! Got to have some cornbread!

[nanabillie]

Good luck!! Let me know anytime I can help. Just pm me.

[nanabillie]

I wouldn't take the top off to often, that slows down your cooking. JMO

[Firehead]

I'm in DE. COke? What does that do?

It may not have been butt, it just looked like abutt cheek to me a big one. I know for sure it's an angus roast, but the butt part might have been my perception rather than the truth lemme find the recipt... brb.


Seems to me that you might have gotten a rump roast. The soda will tenderize it. I usually cook mine until it becomes really fork tender.

[gibbrishclown]

:D what does take the top off mean?

[Firehead]

:D what does take the top off mean?

Don't remove the lid too often.

[gibbrishclown]

:doh:Don't remove the lid too often.:girl_haha: LMAO I get it!

[Grande]

I'm in DE. COke? What does that do?

It may not have been butt, it just looked like abutt cheek to me a big one. I know for sure it's an angus roast, but the butt part might have been my perception rather than the truth lemme find the recipt... brb.

:67302:

How'd I know this would be an amusing thread...

LOL, Good luck with that gibbrish! The longer you cook it the more tender it will be. It'll be done in 4.5 hours but it might not be as tender as you would like.

[gibbrishclown]

so I should turn it down and cook it longer? Or just cook it longer. These may seem like stupid questions, but they could save my dinner! My bf has had a bad enough day flying in from cali, so I'd like to not ruin dinner if possible :girl_haha:

You knew it'd be amusing because it combined gibby and cooking :D

[Grande]

so I should turn it down and cook it longer? Or just cook it longer. These may seem like stupid questions, but they could save my dinner! My bf has had a bad enough day flying in from cali, so I'd like to not ruin dinner if possible :girl_haha:

You knew it'd be amusing because it combined gibby and cooking :D

Turn it down and cook it longer if possible, I'm sure most will agree.

LOL, I'm sure he will enjoy it regardless :22wink:

[gibbrishclown]

he'll eat it regardless, :girl_haha: I'm not sure he'll enjoy it though I'm gonna go turn her down to 6 hours

[Grande]

he'll eat it regardless, :girl_haha: I'm not sure he'll enjoy it though I'm gonna go turn her down to 6 hours

LOL!! Your darn right he will.

Have a great dinner!

[gibbrishclown]

thank you grande :D

Thank you, everyone

[PatC]

Basically, you can't OVER cook your roast in the crockpot. But you do need to keep the lid in place and try to forget about it. Even cooking it 6 hours shouldn't require more liquid. With the lid in place in the crockpot, it more or less self-bastes, and it doesn't cook fast enough to boil off the liquid.

I'm sure it'll be great. You might want to put your veggies in for the last couple of hours because it takes a long time for them to cook (even small ones) in a crock pot.

[gibbrishclown]

ok... since my potatos are small I don' thave to cut them, right? I can toss them in any time, they're washed and ready if I don't have to cut them.

[gibbrishclown]

it was a angus select beef round rump roast boneless...

[PatC]

ok... since my potatos are small I don' thave to cut them, right? I can toss them in any time, they're washed and ready if I don't have to cut them.

Sorry for the delay.... I had to go to town. Grandson's birthday party is tomorrow.

Yes, the little potatos can go in whole.

[nanabillie]

Just checking in to see how the roast was doing? And how YOU are doing. What time do we eat? I'm hungry!!

[nanabillie]

:basic45: Oh Boy!!! I sure hope No News Is Good News!!

[Grande]

:basic45: Oh Boy!!! I sure hope No News Is Good News!!

LOL, I'll bet it was delicious.

I had meatloaf, mashed pataters, wheat biscuits, lima beans & applesauce.

[Tam5115]

It must have been good. I swear you could eat your shoes if you cooked them in a crock pot long enough.

[SaberGal]

It must have been good. I swear you could eat your shoes if you cooked them in a crock pot long enough.

LMAO - truer words were never spoken...

[lost indie]

Good morning gibby....

http://bestsmileys.com/dancing/6.gif

how awesome was that roast????/

BTW...I am so dang thrilled to see you here.....

:s1gyahoo::s1gyahoo::s1gyahoo:

it makes my day!

[Smokey Stover]

Gibbrishclown,

You are young, but not too young to get a cookbook. I'm not an expert on cookbooks, but I treasure the old Fanny Farmer that I have, that's falling apart. I consult it a lot more than I do the newer Fanny Farmer (which therefore is not falling apart), or the no-longer-available Joy of Cooking. The reason I call it no-longer-available is that there is a new Joy of Cooking which I haven't tried.

With even a half-way good cookbook (but a comprehensive one) you don't need cooking lessons, although you do need a meat thermometer and a few cooking dishes--crock-pot, Dutch oven, porcelain casserole dishes, regular baking pans, at least one of them a pan with a grill so you can do oven roasts and catch the juices for gravy. (In the interest of truth, I must add that I do not have a crock pot and don't miss it.)

Fannie Farmer, incidentally, said Don't cook a roast longer than three hours.

You have been asking for help in cooking a pot roast. Fortunately, pot roasts rarely go wrong. You might want to try an oven roast next, but get the right roasting pan. Or, if you are impecunious, you can use one of those cheap aluminum roasting pans sold in grocery stores. You can still make gravy with the juices.

The advice to cook the vegetables separately is good. You don't even need to put the vegetables in with the roast. You're making pot roast, not beef stew.

The advice to use any uneaten roast in stew is okay, but pot roast just keeps getting better when heated up a second and third time. Some people (me, for instance) think beef stew is best when made from raw beef, with vegetables added when they have been cooked separately, although not necessarily completely cooked. You want them to settle down with the beef in a neighborly way, so you add them before cooking time for the meat is up.. Use the cookbook for directions! And beef stew, like pot roast, just keeps getting better with each reheating. You can also refresh it, if you need to, adding vegetables or meat as appropriate.

Don't worry too much about what liquid you add to your pot roast OR to your beef stew. Cheap red wine, some water, some cooking oil, perhaps some Italian spices, perhaps a jot of steak sauce. You can use beef stock or even chicken stock. I sometimes use Campbell's "Au jus" gravy. It's thin. bit it has more flavor than water.

Tell your mom, your father-in-law, anyone who wants to give you a present for your birthday, for Christmas, for Mother's Day, for any occasion, that you need a general all-occasion cookbook, a roasting pan, possibly a castiron spider (if you do much stove-top cooking and don't mind the weight) and one or two good coated heavy-duty aluminum fry-pans, one of which is suitable for omelets, a couple of good porcelain casserole dishes, and a Dutch oven if you don't have one. (I use mine for beef stew, among other things. I do the pot roasts in a casserole dish, in the oven.) If you get pots and pans for vegetables and mashed potatoes, steer away from any in which the handle is attached by a screw. Insist on a riveted or other permanent attachment, even at the greater cost.

Cooking an oven roast is really easy. Follow the directions in the cookbook, which are real simple. You add nothing, just set the oven, put the roast in a pan with the fat side up, and come back two or three hours later.

Have you made Swiss steak? Give it a try. You have to pound it, but it's really good, and any idjit can make it. I know, because I'm an idjit and I've made it.

With Joy of Cooking or Fannie Farmer you can hardly go wrong. You can be a good cook with no experience and no other instruction.

And I hope I can be forgiven for this post, which I'm absolutely certain duplicates posts already in abundance on this forum.

[gibbrishclown]

No smokey there were no other posts quite like yours :D

The roast ROCKED! Of course it did! I had an expert team of advisors on hand to assist. It literally fell apart and as gross as it is, 5 people killed off the whole 4.25 lb roast and all the trimmins and on mashed potatoes. It was good stuff.

Thank you everyone for all your help! I'd never used a crockpot before. It belongs to my bf and he loves it. I prefer something a little less time consuming. I"m here, I've got the time LOL. It was worth the wait though and the weather was nasty so someone even stayed over. It was cool to have a hot delicious meal. Thanks again.

[Louise]

I am glad the meal went well. :zm10:

[Smokey Stover]

Yes, it sounds like a total success. Now, what are you going to cook next time? I suppose it makes a difference how you get to the store, and also what boyfriend and you both like to eat. If yours is a normal city or village, you get fliers from the local supermarkets, probably on Friday, give or take a day. The flier will list next week's specials, and thereby guide you to what are the bargains of the week, but it can also just remind you of what your choices may be. Haven't cooked chicken in a while? Or pork chops? Your flier will doubtless list them. I don't know whether you do your own shopping (which requires a car to be available, of course) or whether you go when boyfriend and his car are available. In either case, just walking up and down the aisles may give you tips on what is available and where to find it.

You also need a realistic notion of how much space you have left in your refrigerator, of course.

Menu-making is now your job. If bf liked the roast he's probably a meat-and-potatoes type of guy. It's good to know what he likes, and even better to know what he dislikes.

I follow basically three principles simultaneously when I plan a week's menus. First, I try to provide balanced meals. Not hard to do. Even though the cost of food fluctuates, it's easy to feed your family economically, touching the important food groups. especially if you try to get fruits and vegetables in season, and look for bargains. (My favorite food groups are peanut butter, ice cream and cheese.) Looking for sweet corn right now is not a good idea. But as soon as fresh green beans come down to $1.49/lb., they are a bargain. Home-cooked, they beat the canned variety (or frozen) by a country mile.

Second, I try not to serve the same thing two days in a row for a main course. If I have a roast or stew that we can't eat up all at once (and we never can), it will easily keep in the refrigerator while you have something else the next evening. In the case of your rump roast, no problem, the roast is gone.

Third, I keep an eye out for bargains, something I've mentioned before. It's useful to know that once or twice a month there's sure to be a bargain in roasts, especially top round and bottom round, sometimes rump roasts as well. (All three are extremely eatable.) There are some cuts of beef that can only be cooked (properly) a certain way, but you have your cookbook for that. Your store may occasionally offer bargains in the London broil cut. Obviously broiling is the suggested method, but the cut can also be used for pot roasts, and is especially easy to cut up for beef stew. Looking for bargains may not be necessary for you, and penny-pinching is rarely that much of a saving. I do it because I grew up poor, and I find it helps guide me towards a little variety in what I bring home to cook.

If your store has a rotisserie table, offering "rotisserie chicken," don't despise it or pass it up just because it is a bit more expensive. When you're in a hurry, it's good to have a well-cooked bird (or breast) that lasts well in the refrigerator and needs only to be reheated. Actually, almost all meats are dead easy to prepare, unless you're trying for something more complex, like shepherd's pie or chicken parmigiana.

Whatever you want to try, with or without your cookbook, you know that everyone who posts on this forum will rush to your side with help if you have questions.

Keep in touch.

[Smokey Stover]

My latest effort at making a stew was lamb stew, or Irish stew. I couldn't quickly find a recipe I liked, so I sort of made it up as I went along. I was okay until I misunderstood someone's directions for thickener. I put in about four times the recommended amount of flour--not a good idea. My wife was away on a trip, which is how I got up enough nerve to try to make something I had not only never cooked before, but never even eaten before.

It wasn't difficult to relieve the stew of its excess flour. But in doing so I also relieved it of whatever flavorful pot liquor there may have been. Nonetheless, I cooked it tonight and served it to DW, who was not appalled. She even ate all that I gave her.

I do not use a slow-cooker, partly because we don't have one. I use a Dutch oven instead.

[DownRiver65]

OK, sounds like the roast went real well. Congratulations. How about some seafood next time. Maybe some live lobster broiled to perfection!! Just remember to leave those rubber bands on the claws until you send him to the great beyond.........